Jain Agamas are the literary works or the religious texts of Jainism. There are 46 Jain Agamas in number. Jain Agamas are revelations from Tirthankaras. In Jain tradition, Tirthankaras are considered Apta Purusha. Agama belongs to second type of Knowledge known as ‘Sruta Jnana’ (Scriptural Knowledge) according to Jainism. The Jain Agamas describes the philosophy of Jainism. They are based on Lord Mahavira’s teachings.

All religions regard the knowledge from scriptures as the "Verbal Testimony" preaching the Ultimate Truth. It is the knowledge derived from the words of a trustworthy person. A scripture is direct revelation from God through Prophet.

Etymology of Jain Agamas
Meaning of the term "Agama" states ‘A’ as complete and ‘Gama’ means to gain. Agama is the scripture which gives complete knowledge.

History of Jain Agamas
After the Nirvana of Lord Mahavira, the community was headed by 3 leaders known as ‘Arhat Kevalis’. After them, the Jain community was under the leadership of 5 ‘Sruta Kevalis’. According to Swetambara tradition, the 5 Sruta Kevalis are Prabhavaswami, Sajjambhavasuri, Yasobhadrasuri, Sambhutivijayji and Bhadrabahu I. According to Digambara tradition, the 5 Sruta Kevalis are Vishnkumara, Nandimitra, Aparajita, Govardhana and Bhadrabahu I.

During the leadership of Bhadrabahu I, there was a terrible famine in Magadha, which lasted for 12 long years. Bhadrabahu professed this famine and so he migrated to Southern India near the place called Kanara, along with Chandragupta Maurya and 12000 monks. The monks who reside in Magadha were under the leadership of Sthulabhadra. After the end of the famine, Sthulabhadra organized a meeting to compile the scriptures, as during that time scriptures were memorized and not written. Therefore it became inevitable to organize a meeting to know, exactly the content of the Agamas remembered by the surviving monks. The meeting organized for the preservation and conservation of the scripture is called as ‘Vacana’. In all there were four Vacanas arranged, as follows:

Council	Period	Head	Place
1st	3rd Century	Sthulabhadra	Pataliputra
2nd	4th Century	Arya Skandil	Mathura
3rd	4th Century	Nagarjunasuri	Vallabhi
4th	5th or 6th Century	Devardhigani Ksamasramana	Vallabhi

Various Jain Agamas
The scholars date the composition of Jain Agamas at around 3rd to 6th century BC. Some of the Jain Agamas are; Dvadasangi, Upadesa, Vacana, Aptavani, Pravacana, Siddhanta, Sruta, Sutra, Sutta, etc. They are written in Prakrit language, the language of the masses spoken in North India during ancient period. The Jain Agamas contains the knowledge of all things which exist in the world.

Classification of Jain Agamas
According to the Swetambara Sect, there are 45 scripture; which are classified in two sections, namely; Anga Pravista and Anga Bahya. These sections are again sub-divided into 12 Angas, 12 Upangas, 10 Prakiranakas, 6 Cheda Sutras, 4 Mula Sutras and 2 Culika Sutras. The Digambar sect believes that there were 25 Agamas.